Appy Holidays

Holiday traditions vary from home to home, but apps for the iPhone and iPad give us all a techie way to keep up with our customs no matter where we’re spending the season.

Here are a few apps, some new and some old, which caught our eye this holiday season:

iTree (Free) – A simple way to share the holidays, this classic app lets you decorate a tree and send it as an eCard to friends and family. You can write a personalized message on the card and the recipients can view it for free, even if they don’t have an iPhone or iPad.

Auto-Tune Christmas (Free… sort of) – Using Antares Auto-Tune, this app lets you sing, record and share a selection of holiday songs. Auto-Tune will modulate your voice, so even if you’ve been graced with the vocal cords of a toad, you’ll sound pretty good. You can wish your loved ones happy holidays through a song and send it as an eCard with a customized photo. The app is initially free, but additional songs and features, like unlimited sharing and posting, cost between $0.99 and $1.99.

Mobile Menorah ($0.99) – Celebrate Chanukah by selecting the number of candles, automatically or manually, and how fast you want them to burn. Enjoy the flickering flames of your menorah on your iPhone or iPad from anywhere in the world. This is a beautifully simple app and results in no unintentional fires. Also, part of each sale goes toward planting trees in Israel.

A Christmas Carol ($4.99) – The Dickens classic has been updated to fit the steampunk trend of a mechanized Victorian age. This interactive eBook takes you through the heart of the story, although not the full text, with original music, animation and illustrations that are lovely. Designed for the iPad, this is one the family should gather around. There have been complaints, however, about having to tap repeatedly to get some parts to work, but overall, is a unique way to share the holiday tale.